Questions of self-efficacy and value have been a strong part of my history and my journey up until this point.
It's only human to have these moments of doubt and discontentment. And, in an effort to unpack these emotions I had to go inward and quit avoiding the tough questions.
With my Head Up, Shoulders Back and Heart Forward, I had the realization that some of my toughest battles between my ears came from my time spent in solitude.
Don't get me wrong, I love my "alone time," and I am well aware that I took this adventure in order to test myself an ocean away from my known comforts. However, when one has a mind that is conditioned to overthink, overanalyze and easily overwhelm, being in solitude can easily make things worse.
I say this because we are communalistic in nature and have evolved as such. So, rather than follow my usual route of continuing to seclude myself and try to figure it all out on my own, I reconnected with the ones that matter. All it took was a couple of days with a few 15 to 90-minute conversations and I was reminded exactly how fortunate and lucky I am to have these people in my life, albeit 14,317km away.
What's best, is that being removed from all of the usual distractions from home, I have been able to connect on a more direct and deep level than I was able to previously back home. Hence why I promote and support that we should all have a tribe. A community of likeminded human-beings who each are walking their own unique paths. How else can we grow at the rate we desire if it weren't for collective growth only experienced from a community of kick-ass amigos.
How do you start? It's simple... The power behind a simple question such as "How are you doing?" can have more of an impact on the person you ask, and yourself more than you think.
So I will leave you with a quote I concocted this afternoon reading about Alexander The Great...
"Alexander, as "great" as he was, we would never know him as such if it weren't for the men who committed their lives to fight by his side." - Brandon Clift